Tim BontempsESPN
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The NBA announced the results of its draft tiebreakers on Monday, setting the order for both the draft lottery on Thursday night as well as the order of picks 15-60 for the NBA draft itself, which is scheduled for Oct. 16.
The Sacramento Kings earned an extra pingpong ball in the lottery pool as well as the 11th slot in the NBA draft if they, and the teams behind them, don’t move up in a tiebreaker with the New Orleans Pelicans, as both teams finished with 28-36 records.
There is one lottery pick that could change hands, as the Boston Celtics will get either the Memphis Grizzlies‘ first-round pick — currently slotted 14th overall — unless Memphis moves into the top four in this year’s draft. If that happens, Boston — which also has the 26th and 30th picks in the first round — will receive an unprotected pick from Memphis next season.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers were beneficiaries of a three-way tiebreaker with the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz for the 21st spot, while Houston claimed the 22nd draft pick and Utah received the 23rd pick. Philadelphia got that pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder — a pick the Thunder originally traded in 2016, and was top-20 protected this season. The Thunder had one fewer loss than the Miami Heat — because of the unbalanced schedule caused by the coronavirus pandemic — thus meaning the pick goes to the 76ers.
The NBA also shifted its approach to how it handles the second round. The 14 teams that didn’t make the playoffs will get picks 31-44, with their draft slot being determined by their record when the season shut down on March 11. Picks 45-60 in the second round will be made by the 16 teams that made the playoffs inside the bubble at Walt Disney World Resort, and will be determined by the record for each of those teams after the eight seeding games were played.
